Barnyard mysteries

Hmm... it has been an interesting morning.  We have sunshine and moderate temps today.  The lull between storms.  A couple of inches of snow yesterday afternoon and more ice and snow expected tomorrow.  Oh, the joys of winter in the midwest.  At least the temperature seems to have gotten over this sub-zero nonsense.
But the cold has taken its toll.  Our frost-free hydrant in the barnyard is frozen.  So I had to carry the waterer for the chickens into the house to fill it in the bathtub in the basement.  Justine, I will be sure to clean the tub well after the hydrant thaws.
But more mysterious is the heat lamp in the chicken coop.  We have a ceramic heater (just infra-red, no light) on a thermo-cube that only comes on when it is cold (I forget the cut-off temp, I think it is 25 or 30).  It helps but isn't terribly effective.  So, with the really, really cold temps we've had, I replaced the regular lightbulb in the coop with a heat lamp.  We've only turned it on when the temps are forecast for below -5F because it produces enough light to keep the chickens awake all night (even though it isn't supposed to because it's coated red) and they eat us out of house and home!  But, back to the mystery.  I know the light was off last night when I closed up the coop for the night.  However, this morning, it was on and no one else has been outside.  And it is on a pull chain that we have tied to the side so it doesn't make contact with the bulb.  Mystery!
V's guess is that there was a bit of frost built up inside the fixture and the last time it was turned off the switch didn't fully switch to 'off' and the warm up was enough to melt the ice and turn it on.  That is possible but I find it weird that it happened at night and not on some of those sunny days when the coop has been fairly warm.  Who knows.  Maybe one of the hens was cold and too smart for her own good.  Or just fluttering too high off the roost.
The ladies have been laying well.  We have been getting 8-10 eggs/day.  Not too shabby from 13 hens, 9 of whom are 3 years old.
I've got some little seedlings up under the grow lights.  Some chard, kale, bok choy, lettuce and spinach destined for the greenhouse.  I'm itching to start my main season crops but I know it's still too early for that. But, just having little seedlings up helps with the winter blahs I've been having.  But sooner than the tomatoes and peppers I long to start, I'll be starting my cool season broccoli and such.  I ordered some romanesco seeds and I'm excited to see how it does.  They look so awesome in a fractal-ly delicious way.
I hope you are all 'weathering' the winter well.  The weather seems to have been so extreme just about everywhere this year.

This and that

Yeah, I'm big on creative titles tonight, aren't I?
It's been a busy week here.  Even though I had Monday off, I still feel like I haven't gotten much done.

Marilyn has been taking quite a bit of time and care.  Not that I regret keeping her alive, but she is a lot of work. V has really stepped up to the plate while I've been at work since we've been feeding her every 1.5 -2 hours during the day.  She was just beginning to be able to find the feeder but then we moved the chicks into the dog kennel and she isn't adapting very well to the larger space, even though I tried to keep the distance and position of the feeder and waterer the same from the brooder lamp as when they were in the box.  We're still putting her into her little box with a dish of mash and she eats and eats and eats until her little crop is crammed full.  She seems to do better with the mash than with the dry feed, I think because it is more uniform and she doesn't have to aim accurately to pick up a crumble.  She does this sad but funny head bob trying to figure out the depth she has to peck to eat.  Sometimes she is to shallow and misses the food, sometimes she pecks too deep and buries her beak up to her nose.  She is still very, very small.  She is growing quite slowly. The other chicks are easily twice her size now, but they aren't picking on her, not even Bettie who is older and bigger than the rest.  The don't even pick on her when she tries to snuggle underneath them.  Sadly, the bathroom is cooler than Justine's room and Marilyn doesn't venture too far from the brooder lamp.  She can find the waterer on her own and even though she she can sometimes find the feeder she doesn't do well with either the dry food or the little holes she has to find in the feeder.  We'll keep at it and see how it goes.

In garden news, last night I finally got around to planting my tomato, pepper and eggplant seeds.  My little brassicas are growing nicely under the grow lights already getting ready for Spring which I hope will truly arrive soon.  We had salad from the greenhouse but sadly, I discovered I've got aphids on my spinach.  So, since it's supposed to be fairly warm this weekend I'm going to try to get out there with some soap/garlic/hot pepper mix to try to take care of them.

I haven't had time to sew since the weekend and I really need to get busy.  And I really need to get onto the exercise bandwagon since I've only got 106 days left until the big race.

The boys and I will be heading down to my parent's for Easter.  I'm looking forward to going but also realize that it's a day out of my weekend that I really need.

Sprouts!

I finally planted my first little seeds on Tuesday night.  My early stuff: cabbage (red and green), chinese cabbage, kale, broccoli, bok choi, and a couple of herbs (rosemary, parsley and summer savory).  Today, I got home from work and I've got bits of green!  Baby choi!  And it looks like the red cabbage isn't far behind.  It was so wonderful to be cleaning dirt out from under my nails again.
It seems that since Winter finally started to kick in, it doesn't want to leave.  It has been cold and snowy here off and on, although today it was nearly 50.
The lettuce and spinach that survived in the greenhouse all winter is finally really starting to take off.  I'll probably go plant a few radishes out there soon, maybe tomorrow.

I rearranged my usual day off so I had an extra day last week when Justine was home so I'm doing tow weeks in a row of working 5 days straight.  Blah!  I didn't realize how much I love that every other Monday off.
I've taken the week off sewing since the photo shoot on Saturday but will probably be back at it on Saturday.  It has been nice to have a little time for things like seed starting and a few more elaborate meals.
The boys are off on Spring break next week so V is going to have them help put up ceilings in a couple more rooms in the basement, including the bath.  Once the ceiling is up, I'm going to pick up a few more chicks at the farm store since they're in. Not too many, maybe 4 or 5.  I had thought about ordering some fancy breeds but I'm feeling too cheap (or cheep!) to pay that much shipping.  And last year one of our local stores had Ameraucanas,  And I know Justine wants another buff orpington.  We'll see what they have.  My coop and run are sized for up to 16 birds (4 square feet/bird inside, more outside) and I'm at 10 at the moment.  And they're finally laying decently again after molting and the winter.  Averaging 5-6 eggs/day again so eggy dishes are back on the menu.

Gotta run close the coop and take the quiche out of the oven.   Gotta have something with crust for Pi Day.

Delighted

Not that I really NEED seeds this year.  I'm not even placing an order. Shocking, I know!  But there are only a few things that I need this year and I've selected things from Seed Savers Exchange.  Lucky for me that since they are a "local" company I can get their seeds at several local stores- including the grocery store we generally shop at.
But today I was totally surprised and delighted and picked up a few seeds that I wasn't really planning on.  You see, V had some things to pick up at the local home store (Menards, if you're curious) so he picked me up after work to go along.  They have their seed displays all set up.  The usual Burpee's stuff and some other cheap, unknown origin seeds.  But imagine my delight at turning around and seeing two display racks from Seeds of Change organics.  Woot!  So, I picked up some butternut squash seeds (one of my 'new things' for the year- I'm planning to do 3 sisters plantings) and a couple of other packets (some sunflowers and some bok choy).  And I had a delightful conversation with an elderly couple selecting seeds for their garden.
All in all, a good trip for me.  It really brightened my day.  Now I just need to get some Black Aztec corn and I'm all set for the year.
So, for my Three Sisters I'm doing Black Aztec corn, Scarlet Runner beans and Butternut squash.  I've always wanted to do this but for some reason haven't.  This is the year!

Photos of the day- very photo heavy!

It started off cloudy this morning but it cleared and turned into a gloriously sunny, warm day.  Just what I needed after a week of dampness and stressful work- a day to get outside and play in the dirt.  Some random, and not so random photos of the day:

My porch has been taken over by little plants. I think I've got 11 flats out there!  But then I've got mine, Jim's and I started extras for the plant sale at church.

I got the herb spiral planted (mostly) today.  This photo was taken when I was trying out spacing.  So far there is sage, Italian Oregano, English Thyme, Tarragon, Orange Balsam Thyme, Marjoram, Flat-leaf Parsley, Chives, Garlic Chives and Basil.  The rosemary and lavender plants will go next to the house.

Our old purple iris are blooming... as is the first of our new ones that we planted.

We planted this one two years ago as a tiny little thing and this is the first year it has bloomed.  LOVE the color!!

I spent time digging the south flower bed.  I'm thinking this will have the rosemary, lavender and some chamomile- as well as my clematis.

The girls primped.  J17 and A have been friends since Kindergarden.
And J17 did manage to get her dress finished.

The top of the dress is actually 'convertible'.  She tied it off the shoulder- which I think makes the dress look lopsided.  I liked it much better with both sides up.

Aren't they lovely!?

BFFs smile for the camera.
But while the girls primped- everyone else worked!

The big support beam is up for the deck.  This is the BIG one.  We've got a 14 foot span over the sidewalk (and back door) and it took them a while to get all the cuts right so those side braces were perfect.

 When K12 wasn't busy, he did what most 12 year old boys do when presented with things that look remotely like guns....

 Back to flowers- I'm excited by this peony.  When we moved here, there were pale pink peonies by the deck and I discovered a bunch more waaaaay back by the fence, overgrown by bushes and trees- too overgrown and shaded to bloom.  I moved them two years ago and this is the first year they are going to bloom.  These look to be hot pink- more photos to come when they open.
And finally... my WTF moment.

I know it's hard to see. It's my columbine in the Goth Garden.  The plants are blooming but every single leaf has been nibbled off, leaving only stalks.  ?????  Rabbits?  But they haven't bothered them before.  And the plants in the garden look fine.  Who knows!

My Manic Monday

I did it again.  My day was jam packed busy!  But before you marvel in amazement, know that I loved every minute of it.  When I reduced my work hours, it was because I didn't have time to do all the things I wanted to do in my life.  So, I'm taking full advantage of my days off and cramming in as much as I can.  I still don't have time for EVERYTHING I want to do- but I'm trying my best.
So, today while in whirling dervish mode I managed to get seedlings transplanted- well most of them.- I ran out of pots and space... and many of my peppers are still quite tiny so they can live in the 72 cell cubes for a bit longer.  That is a task that seems to have taken me most of the morning.  It's amazing how the number of seedlings seem to grow exponentially when you're repotting them.  But I've got the tomatoes for me, for my friend Jim and for the plant sale all potted up.  I've also got tarragon, marjoram, thyme, summer savory, clary sage, and lots of basil started.
Outside, I planted my broccoli and cabbage plants into the garden and got three little beds dug for new planting areas along the barn and chicken coop/run.  I'm planning to plant luffa gourds to vine up the west side of the barn, vining nasturtiums along the chicken coop to shade the west wall from the afternoon sun and sunflowers along the west side of the chicken run- also to provide shade.  We discovered last summer that, being on the west side of the pole barn, the coop and run get baked in the sun in the afternoons so I'm hoping to use some plant shade to keep it a little cooler in there this year.
Inside, besides transplants, I did some laundry, made granola bars so K12 has snacks for School of the Wild, cooked up some chicken for a few meals this week and made dinner.  We had chicken enchilada casserole for dinner this evening and I've got broth with a little chicken in it in the fridge for later this week.
Now, I'm tired, but it's a good tired.  It's time to watch Eureka and unwind.  Tomorrow it's back to work.

Taking the gloves off!

After I put them on, of course!!
This morning, I geared up and headed out to harvest:

 I had to wear gloves because I was cooking with fire!

Stinging Nettles to be precise!   I was making a batch of crackers so would have the pasta roller out and knew that I wanted to make pasta.  When I was out to let out the chickens I noticed that the nettles were about 6-7 inches high already.  Mmmm... nettle pasta!
I harvested my bowl of nettles (sorry, I didn't measure) they were then blanched and cooled.  I squeezed the excess water out to them and popped them into the fridge until I was ready to make pasta later in the afternoon.  I did save all the water used to blanch them and what was squeezed out, let it cool and used it to water plants.  I figure it must have some nutrients in it!
Later, it was pasta time!  I put the cooked nettles in the blender with an egg and gave it a whirl.  Then added it into my pasta dough.

 The basic recipe:
2 1/4 cups flour (I completely forgot that I had gotten semolina flour last weekend- duh!)
approximately 1/2 cup cooked nettles, blended with one egg until smooth
2 additional eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Put the wet ingredients into a well in the dry ingredients and slowly mix the dry into the wet with a fork.  As it gets firmer, use your hands.  Knead it until it becomes smooth and silky, adding additional flour as necessary.

Cover it (either wrap in plastic or cover with an oiled bowl) for 20 minutes. Then cut into pieces, roll thin and cut into noodles.

 I dry mine on an old flour sack towel draped over a wooden clothes rack.
At this point, you can either dry them completely for storage, dry them partially for freezing or cook them fresh.  Mine dried for about an hour before dinner:

 Mmm, nettle pasta with tomato sauce!  These were really good.  Everyone liked them so I hope to make some more of these and maybe some with lambs quarters in a few weeks.  I'm seeing all kinds of colors of pasta coming up.  Beets, spinach, tomato. maybe some more lemon pepper... and I still want to order some squid ink from somewhere.  J17 and I searched local stores this weekend but no one locally carries it.  We LOVE our black pasta!

And now, other things of the day.  First- I lied....  I did not work on that baby quilt.  Yeah, I'm bad.  But since I didn't go to the baby shower I figure I don't have a deadline.  If it had been raining, as was forecast, I probably would have worked on it.  But, today was another glorious, mostly sunny day near 80F again.  I couldn't bring myself to sit in that basement room without windows!
But I got a lot done in addition to crackers and pasta.  I got the old canes cut out of the raspberries, cleared off the herb/flower bed in the garden, cleared off the mint bed and pruned some dead tips off the roses.
And I took a few photos:

 This little ground squirrel posed for me.  I was able to get quite a few shots before he got bored and left.
And- look at this green grass!!

I'm sorry, but the grass isn't supposed to be this green- it is still officially Winter- at least until tomorrow.

 And my bush cherries are blooming!  The first year they have bloomed. I do hope some bees show up soon. There are so few flowers about that I fear the neighboring bees haven't ventured far afield yet.

And the daffodils are blooming.  I know you probably can't see it well, but on the top right petal of that front flower is a lovely little lacewing. I do hope she finds some food and lays lots of eggs :-)

V and I even had a "Date Lunch" today!   We had some errands to run so we had lunch at the Bluebird Cafe.  Lovely! I also repotted my little cabbage and kale seedlings. If they were a bit bigger, I'd harden them off and set them out- but they've only got 2 leaves on them so I'll let them be for a while. I did get my broccoli started but I wonder if I should have just direct sowed it in the garden, LOL!
That was my Monday off. The rain finally arrived around 7pm.  We had a thunderstorm with ferocious winds but now it has tapered off to just rain.  I do hope we get a decent amount.  We have had so little snow that we really need the moisture.  It's not good when there are already cracks in the ground in March.

I wish you all a lovely week.

One nice thing...

One thing about this unseasonably warm weather. Since I KNOW that it's too early to be out in the garden, I don't have to rush around when I get home from work. I actually took time to sit out on the deck and just enjoy the weather... unheard of!
I'm not sure but I think we may have hit 80 here today.  It was still 60F when I got up at 5:40 this morning.  Sunny and warm with a lovely breeze.  Ahh...  heavenly.  The trees are exploding into life so, so quickly and we're likely to actually have to mow the lawn soon!  But I can rake up those clippings for a little bit of chicken heaven.
I've given up stressing about the baby quilt.  I'm not likely to have it finished by Saturday, but I'm not going to the baby shower either, so I'll have Sunday and Monday to finish it up and give it to Katie on Tuesday at work.  I'd really like to go to the baby shower but I'm going to be out of town. The husband of one of my cousins passed away this week and the funeral is on Saturday so I'll be driving down to my parents again on Saturday.  V and the children will stay here so I'll be going on my own. The funeral is at 11 and even if I drove straight back afterwards (which is unlikely) I still wouldn't make it back in time for the shower.
This weekend I'll be starting my broccoli and cauliflower.  It seems so odd to be starting cool weather crops when it's 80 out there.  V has had the windows open recently and it hasn't done my tiny seedlings any good.  Evidently there was a bit of a breeze from the window and a few of them look a bit worse for wear- almost burned.  I've had them uncovered for a while because it was time- but I think the breeze dried out some of the leaves a bit.  Fortunately most of them look just fine.
Roger and Sharon came over for a bit this evening.  Roger was showing off how well (or not) he is getting around on his new prosthetic leg.   It was nice to see them.  We've been over to their house but Roger hasn't ventured out much (except to appointments and therapy) since his surgery last summer.  He is still struggling with stairs but otherwise is doing pretty well. We chatted for a while and sent them off with a dozen eggs.  Sharon said the eggs look too pretty to eat but thought they could probably manage.  She thought they may need to have some more before Easter so they wouldn't have to color eggs.  They would be quite welcome to more.

Today is the Ides of March... I hope there isn't anything to beware....

Amazing!

Sometimes, life astounds you.  Not my life, I mean LIFE!  I planted seeds yesterday after lunch.  And today, I already have seedlings up.
First up (cotyledons fully up) Michihli Cabbage (a chinese cabbage) from Baker Creek.  Followed closely by Copenhagen Market from Seed Savers Exchange.   The Copenhagen Market seeds are even from last year.  We got them from my brother last fall.  He had received them at some luncheon or other and they don't really garden so, they were bequeathed to us.
I'm still amazed that less than 36 hours after planting I've got anything up.  Wow!  But I'll tell you, it is a fabulous feeling to see those tiny little green growing things.  It gives me hope.

I'm trying something new tonight.  Well, not totally new to me, but not something I've done for a long time.  I'm making yogurt.  The children all adore yogurt and will totally devour it if I bring any home.  So, I decided to make some myself and see if I get the same reaction.  Hopefully they still like it.  I know that homemade yogurt isn't always like what you get in the neat little packages in the store.  But we'll see.  It should be fun.

My parents are coming tomorrow for lunch and will then be going with us to a concert.  J17's last Preucil School of Music concert.  This is the one where they have ALL the students of all levels perform.  They start with the oldest, most experienced students on the stage, playing the hardest music. Then song by song, they add more students to the stage, with the pieces getting progressively easier.  They finally end with the youngest ones (the Twinklers) arriving on stage and everyone together plays Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star- the first song they ever learn.  It is usually a lovely concert.  Long but lovely.  Since J17 is a senior this year, this is her last one.

More another time...

So... Hard....

So hard to not plant seeds!  It was 51*F here this afternoon.  I SO want to get my hands in the dirt.  But, I have to learn patience.  Maybe next weekend I'll start my early stuff like cabbage.  Still earlier than on my planting calendar but I just can't stand it!!
What I really need to do is rig up a cold frame and plant some spinach or some other greens.  My poor little lettuce in the window box hasn't come up very well (it was ancient seed) so I may try replanting it.

We're supposed to get snow again tomorrow night so maybe that will help me curb the temptation to start seeds too early... or maybe not.

Out of room

 I repotted my last little seed starts this afternoon.  Three new varieties of peppers and replants of one tomato, two peppers and my purple tomatillos.  I've generally been happy with all the seeds I've received from Baker Creek but I've had terrible germination with the purple tomatillos I got from them this year.  Even after replanting I've only got two viable seedlings- not that I need that many tomatillos- but it is quite disappointing.
I've run out of room under my lights.  I've got all 9 flats filled!

And this doesn't even count the brassicas that are out in the shop (we moved them from the porch because it is wicked cold and windy). I've even got a flat that is now living on the landing in front of the south door because I don't have room.

Fortunately it's my flat of little romaine that I was planning to set out to harden off soon anyway.

And finally, as promised a while ago, our new basement door.

Much lovelier than the hideous scratched up dutch door that was there previously.
J16 did go visit her new 'employer' this afternoon and is quite excited about the whole business.  Her new boss, Nan, is a newbie blogger.  Check her out at Wapsi-no-noc Gardens!  J16 is excited about all she can learn.  And I'm hoping to learn vicariously.

Warm!!

Oh my, what a weekend!  The weather has been fabulous.  Windy today but with temps in the low 80's.  Yesterday was calmer and almost as warm.  I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped but some things got done.
J16 and I did get to the farmer's market yesterday.  The city is doing a trial run of an indoor market that may go year round so I wanted to show my support. I was amazed at how many people were there- it was heartening.  There were 38 vendors present and we, of course, made a few purchases.  We got some fabulous handmade pasta (roasted butternut squash and sage) a few cheeses (a fabulous gouda from Frisian Farms and cheese curds and parmesan from Acoustic Farms).  We treated ourselves to a pair of handmade dark chocolate truffles and picked up a rosemary plant since mine died over the winter :-(
While at the herb table, J16 made a discovery.  The lady running it is looking for an intern to help her out.  J16 jumped at the chance.  She has been looking for work but at 16 with no job experience in this economy she hasn't found anything.  An internship, while not paid, would give her some valued experience and a job reference.  She has always been interested in herbs and herbal medicine and has quite a bit of knowledge about herbs. This lady not only grows plants to sell but she evidently harvests and dries them and makes several herbal salves and such.  She and J16 exchanged numbers and they are going to chat to see what she thinks.  Probably to J16's benefit, as we were selecting our rosemary plant to purchase a friend of ours stopped by and was asking about rosemary (the herb lady didn't know that we knew Robin already) and Justine was able to answer questions and make suggestions of what foods rosemary complements.  Impressive.  The flier J16 picked up says that the internship would include transplanting, weeding, harvesting, drying, and learning about herbs and herbal remedies.  It also involves manning the table at farmer's markets in the area.
When we got home, J16 and I started transplanting little tomatoes into bigger pots.  I pretty much spent most of my afternoons this weekend transplanting little plants.  We did 67 tomato plants, 40 peppers and a variety of other seedlings (eggplant, tomatillos, litchi tomato, romaine and some herbs).  The cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kale seedlings are on the porch to harden off.  As windy as it was today I'll have to check them for water before it gets dark.
I need to get going.  I spent so much time on garden stuff I didn't get any laundry done this weekend.  Oops....

Signs of spring

Spring has sprung.  Although you couldn't really tell by the weather this morning.  We woke to a light dusting of snow and continued flurries.  Fortunately it warmed up nicely and turned into a lovely day.  I was hoping to get into the garden to do some preliminary tilling this weekend but they're predicting sleet and freezing rain for Friday (FUN!)  So, V was using my tiller this afternoon to loosen some soil that the trucks had driven over when they did the septic installation and said that the soil was working up really well.  So....  I went out before dinner and tilled up about 2/3 of the garden- I would have done all of it but I didn't get the rest cleaned out very well over the weekend.  But- oooo!!  REAL playing in the dirt!  I was in heaven!

But Spring is springing inside as well: Behold:

Tiny red cabbage and kale seedlings.  And below- tomatoes!!

I do definitely need a 12 step program for seeds.  We had to stop at the home improvement store and they had packets of seeds for nine cents- can you believe that!  So, of course, we got a couple.  Since my Anaheim chilis didn't germinate well, we got a pack of Numex Big Jim chilis as well as some calendula and forget-me-nots. Then, when we stopped at our local grocery on the way home, they had a Seed Savers Exchange seed display.  Since some of my other peppers haven't germinated, I picked up a pack of  Bulgarian Carrot peppers and some Tolli's Sweet Italian peppers.  Mmmm...  So, last night I was starting a few more seeds.  Please stop me!!!  Of course, I didn't have very good germination on several things and I need seedlings not only for myself, but for Jim and for the plant sale in May.  And Roger (my best friend and former garden partner) said he didn't plant any jalapeno seeds this year and could he have a couple...  how could I refuse...
And the final sign of spring here-

 Yup, the toenail polish came out already.

But I also want to share a wonderful treat that arrived in the mail today.
I was fortunate enough to win a give away hosted by my dear blog buddy Robbyn at The Back Forty
Look what arrived in the mail today.

A fabulous book on perennial vegetables.  I've just had a bit of time to flip through it so far but it looks great.  I've learned something already- I didn't know that day lilies are edible- oh, I've seen the flowers in edible things before but I would have never thought of eating the fleshy tubers.  Supposedly you can eat them like potatoes.  Hmmm, they seem a bit small but, OK.  Evidently the dried flower buds make an appearance in many Chinese dishes- who would have thought...
Anyway, I can't wait to have more of a chance to read this one.
THANKS ROBBYN!!!

First summer seedlings

The very first few seedlings of my main summer crops came up today.  I just planted them on Sunday so that's pretty quick.  Not all have started to show but the first ones up: Black Krim (heirloom), Jaune Flamme (heirloom), Crimson Cushion (heirloom) and super beefsteak (hybrid- mainly for the plant sale).  Nothing else up yet but I'm hoping to see some more tomorrow.
Work was brutal today and I'm still not recovered from the past week so I'm really tired.  And I work on Saturday so I still don't get a chance to sleep in. sigh...
But, the kitchen is just about put together so that's something positive.

Happy Spring 2011

Hoorah!  Spring is officially here!!!  Today, in addition to grouting tile, I planted seeds.  We didn't finish the grout- we ran out- oops.  We will pick up another tub tomorrow when V picks me up from work.  I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow.  What a whirlwind 'vacation' I had. Work will be almost relaxing after this week.
But... seeds.  I planted 9 varieties of peppers, 11 varieties of tomatoes, 2 different tomatillos, eggplant,  litchi tomatoes, lemon balm and summer savory.  I'm hoping to have lots of seedlings.  I've started some for myself, some for our friend Jim and his first garden, and some for the plant sale.
Tomorrow night, we will finish grouting the kitchen floor and hopefully install the island counter.  I will get to cook in the new kitchen- Woo Hoo.  Over the next few evenings I will start putting things away, although the pantry cabinet isn't assembled on the inside yet and we haven't installed the drawer or door pulls.
But still, we pretty much did it.  I wasn't sure if we could actually accomplish the kitchen in a week, but we did.  We would have finished the tile tonight except for running out of grout.  But we are close.....

New sprouts

I've got broccoli, cabbage, kale and cauliflower seedlings popping their tiny heads up.  Hurrah!  I was a bit worried that they would take a while to sprout since they are in the back room in the addition and it's pretty cool back there.  I'll definitely have to set up my heating cables when I start the tomatoes and peppers.   So far, the kale is the slowest to germinate- only one tiny sprout showing- and the broccoli is the best with 8 tiny seedlings already up.
The week has been flying by and I have so much to do.  Last night we had J16's final orchestra concert so I didn't get much done and this evening, I went with J16 to her violin lesson since V is  having dinner with a friend to talk about his book project and bounce some ideas off him, so again, I didn't get much kitchen packing done.  I've still got the spices to pack up, all the liquidy stuff (honey, molasses, various hot sauces, etc), the staples (flours, sugars, rice and such) and the stuff from under the sink.  There are a few baking things left, as well as the pots and pans we're still using and all my mixing bowls.  I'm really not doing that bad on packing up but I feel behind.  Tomorrow will be a wash as well since I need to take I13 to church for confirmation.  That only leaves Thursday evening to finish up.  At least there is nothing on the schedule for Thursday night... yet....

A Seedy Saturday

I got to plant more seeds today!  Yeah!!!  Spring is around the corner- even if it was snowing again (sigh).
This afternoon I planted Red Acre cabbage, a few kale seeds (These are really for the fall but I couldn't resist), broccoli and cauliflower.  They are in with my little parsley seedlings and my little leeks.
I can hardly wait until I can plant the 'main season' seeds- but we are still a couple of weeks away.  And I will be starting extras again this year.  My friend Jim, who recently bought a house, wants to start a garden on his new property.  I told him I would help him pick the best location and that he could borrow our tiller to dig his new garden.  He was really excited when I told him I would give him some seedlings for his garden.  And I will also be starting seeds for the second annual plant sale at our church.  Last year we raised several hundred dollars for the crisis center (our local food pantry).  Last year, I took in extra plants that I had started but I just took what I had since I didn't learn about the plant sale until I had already started seeds.  This year, I will be starting more seeds to sell.  Last year, the garden plants were our best sellers. All my plants sold last year, but I had lots of hot peppers and unusual varieties of tomatoes and a few people were unsure about them.  This year, I will make sure I plant plenty of extra bell peppers and some more 'traditional' tomatoes that will sell more readily.  Last year, people bought black tomato seedlings but weren't really sure about it.  But I guess it was a great introduction to heirloom tomatoes.  This year, there will definitely be more beefsteak tomatoes (Amana Orange and regular red beefsteak tomatoes) and varieties that people will recognize.  I'm also planning to plant some extra herbs because those sold well last year as well.  Maybe I'll even plant some extra parsley this week so I've got some nice extra seedlings to sell.
Today, I also packed up a few more boxes of kitchen stuff.  I did the coming week's menu plan and figured out what I needed to leave in the cabinets for this week and next.
Tomorrow will be a crazy-busy day.  First, J16 and I will be working at the pancake breakfast at our church.  It is another fundraiser for the crisis center.  And, the more exciting thing about tomorrow is that it is K10's birthday!  So, I've got to frost the cake that I baked today.  True to our birthday tradition, we've got a fun, theme cake planned.  I'll be sure to post pictures tomorrow.
Now, I think I'm going to go have a little drink and watch a movie with the children...

First sprouts of 2011

 Yeah, they're hard to see.  Above- parsley- gourmet mix from Cook's Garden, below- the first leek from Botanical Interest.

I was so excited to come home last night and see these.  I was doing the happy dance in the kitchen.  Since they are now up, I have moved them in under the grow lights- the kitchen window,while a southern exposure, is pretty cold and it has been cloudy and snowy lately.  I want then to grow healthy and strong.
I was at work today- nothing too exceptional.  This means that I have next Friday off. So, that means baking a birthday cake for K10 (soon to be K11!) and packing boxes from the kitchen.  We are two weeks from kitchen week and there is lots to do before then.  I have been doing some cooking ahead and putting stuff in the freezer- ground beef for burritos and some pulled pork (I made a double batch on Friday).
J16 is feeling better today.  She missed all 4 days of school this week due to influenza.  Tons of fun- especially since this is the end of the trimester and she had finals and projects due.  sigh...  However, K10 is now our wounded child. I don't know if he slept wrong, moved wrong or what- but he's got a stiff/sore neck and is moving slowly.  It is better now than it was when I got home so hopefully by morning it will be better.
It was snowy and miserable all day today.  Ugh.  I'm ready for spring- even if it means mud.

FIRST SEEDS!!

The first seeds of the 2011 gardening season have been planted here at my not-very-urban homestead.  Ok, it is only a little cup of parsley on the windowsill but still--- the first seeds of the year!  A momentous moment.  I'm hoping to start my leeks this weekend. V moved my grow light set up into the addition so it is all set and out of the kitchen for the remodel.  The real seed starting will begin in March.  We've still got 12 weeks to go before our average last frost.
And speaking of seeds,  this is the last call for the Save the Bees seeds.  I need to get those in the mail so let me know if you want some.  I'll try to contact those who have already indicated they want some.  If you want in, email me.  I'm at gmail and you send it to fullfreezer.  Pretty simple.  Let me know your address and what you want.  I've got Anise hyssop, Bee balm, purple coneflower, clary sage, nasturtium and poppies.  I've got lots of other stuff as well- lots of odds and ends of black flowers from last year's Goth garden as well.

Oh, and the toilet works!!!  Woo Hoo.  It turns out that it was actually the filter in the new septic tank was clogged and draining too slowly.  That's why it would flush sometimes but not after someone took a shower.
I am SO ready for the weekend.  This has been a long week, it seems.  I'm fighting an annoying cold- not one where I feel bad but one with a continuous post-nasal drip that makes me cough.  Blah.
But, the weather has been fabulous!  It was 60 today!!  The snow is almost all melted and the creek is running full.  It is really making me want to get out and work outside- unfortunately it is sloppy muddy at the moment.  sigh...  soon enough... it is only February.

Still working on the master plan

For seed starting, that is.  It's been much on my mind lately.  Maybe it's that it has been unforgivingly cold here this week and I'm longing to see something naturally green outside.  It was -15 F this morning when I left for work (That's about -26 C for those of you more familiar with that scale).  Regardless of the number or scale it was COLD! Much colder than normal for here this time of year.  But... a warm up is on the horizon.  It is forecast to get above freezing this weekend!  GASP!  We may see liquid water outside!
V and the boys were moving more snow again this afternoon.  It occurred to us that we are expecting a delivery truck next week and it will need to be able to get through the drive, around the house and into the courtyard to unload the new kitchen cabinets into the shop.  Hmm, we didn't clear any of those drifts... oops....

In more fun news, I placed my order for floating row covers this evening  and now, I'm going to get back to my planting calendar.  So many seeds, so little time. (and room)

Ooo...and this must be a particularly evil post.  It's number 666....